Wolf: the story of a Sigma WolfLion
by ChestnutBrumby
Summary: What became of Wolf, the hybrid wolf-lion, after Rex and Lucy left the Isla Variatis.
1. Chapter 1

A vaguely canine shape sat calmly on the shoreline, passing a large tawny paw over his muzzle and cheeks. With a neat lick he cleaned his toes of crimson stains, then combed through the fur on his face again. Licking the edge of his paw, he folded each of his ears down carefully to wash behind them. He continued to groom, catlike, until his fur was clean.

He had finished clearing the island of the remainder of Julius's beasts. Though no longer under his control, the madman had directed them down paths of aggresion and suspicion for so long, they could now follow no other way. But divided, with few left of their original number, they made easy targets for the hunter sitting on the sand. He led a small force of seven - five Eeri, tough and durable beasts with the ability to fire electricity at long range - and the pair of Komodo tigers, who had the body of a tiger and the head and long, curving tail of the komodo dragon. He got along well with the Komodo-tigers, finding them very easy to communicate with. The Eeri were easy to lead but harder to communicate directly with - they were herd creatures and once one was engaged in attacking or defending, the others naturally fell in beside that one.

Wolf felt that with the last of the stray enemies creatures defeated his sense of purpose was completed here, but there was something more awaiting him. He knew that over that horizon there were more islands... and on them, more creatures.

He knew what he had to do.

He wuffed to the Komodo-tigers. Both trotted over to him, the male butting his hea against Wolf's shoulder. The female grunted in the strange lizard-voice the pair used to communicate, a very low sound to Wolf's ears. He licked them both between their ears, his posture communicating to them he was leaving them and wishing them both well. The pair nuzzled at him with affection, looking up to him as the leader of their little pack. They they trotted back up the beach together. Wolf watched them go and felt a sharp stab inside, as if an enemy had clawed him.

He huffed a sigh and turned his gaze out to the horizon. The sun had started to venture close to the line where the sky met the ocean and a wash of gold was overtaking the sky. The tide was coming in, starting to wash close to the big animal's forepaws. He gave a single flick of his bushy tail, glanced back once at the island, and plunged into the water.

He swam easily through the waves, his powerful feline limbs churning steadily. His chin remained tilted up and his ears slightly flattened, to keep spray from reaching his face, as he headed towards the next island out of a chain over a thousand miles in length. Night fell and still the figure of the hybrid paddled. It was well past midnight before he reached the next island.

Isla Inasnum. Wolf had hated this island form the moment he first jumped from the tainted ground and smelt the air. It didn't smell like the other islands did - fresh, salty, natural. _This_ island smelt of the death and delusions Julius had brought there, punctuated by the strong metallic scent from the portions of the islands he'd enclosed in dull silver docks.

This was an easier island to clear of rogue creatures, though he disliked it. Many of them were weakend by the virus and not up to their usual standards of battle. Which was a good thing, since a few of Rex's errant Eeri were still on the island. It wasn't that Wolf found them difficult to dispatch, (though they weren't the easiest he'd had to deal with) because he was faster than them, and remorseless at sizing a weak area to hit. It was that Wolf, after working with Eeri through many a long battle, found them a hardy, intelligent and respectable breed and he was reluctant to turn against a former ally. But there could be no saving the crazed creatures once so badly infected with the virus. Wolf was simply putting an end to the poor beasts' suffering.

He didn't even pause to hunt or rest on Isla Inasnum, he was so eager to be gone. It was best the place be left as a metal graveyard, a reminder of all the lives Julius ruined.

The next island was a longer swim. He reached it by midmorning. Isla Porta's high metal gate still stood, something that infuriated Wolf. He swam along the island's central channel for a closer look. It was constructed far too heavily for any creature his size to damage. He did defiantly score his claws across the open doors though, leaving four paralell lines gouged into the metal.

He was glad none of the giant enemy creatures remained on this island. As it was the cheetah-lobsters prooved difficult enough for him. Their sleek, rangy bodies were faster than he was over short distances, and the instant they realized he was nearby they bolted like frightened deer. Wolf, however, had the staminia to track them. In the end there was nowhere they could run on the island to escape his keen nose. Wolf fought them with huge, powerful blows, crippling them or knocking them out before they could turn their lobster claws on him.

He hunted after the job was done. He was partial to the taste of zebra meat. He could eat enemy Sigma creatures, but he preferred actual animals. Sigma creatures were not as filling, and they were messy to secure as a meal - he had to start feeding while they were still alive. Once they died, they faded like dying fireflies.

By the following day he had reached Isla Fervesca. He was sorry to leave the tropical islands behind for the harsh sun of the desert, yet his lion DNA ensured he didn't suffer overly from the heat. He could see the prints in the red sand of abnormally large camels. Their scent gave them away - camel eels. Sigma enemies.

They were difficult to get close to because of their ranged eletrcial attack - Wolf knew from experience with the Eeri what sort of damage that charge could do. He was smart in hunting them, stelathy, stalking up to them and striking before they knew he was there. Their eel heads were mounted on long, vulnerable camel necks - an excellent target to attack while avioding being shot.

The constant swimming and attacking were taking their toll on him. He stood on the shoreline, wondering if he should go hunting for a regular camel. But there was something... something pushing him onward, a very strange sensation. He recalled the next island along with less than fond memories - it was where the scorpion-bull had attacked him. The fur along his spine stood on end just thinking of that. Yet... yet there was something on that island he had overlooked. He was _sure_ of it.

He started the next swim at roughly midday, but night had fallen before he heard the wash of waves upon sand that signalled he was close. He was following his sixth sense in the dark, the inbuilt sense of direction that told him where to go.

He swam on strongly towards the island. Desert nights were cold and the temperature of the ocean had dropped low enough to chill him, even under his coarse wolf-fur.

He was weary when his paws finally felt sand shift under them. He walked through the shallows, up to the beach. It smelt familair, he decided as he got closer. His master and his mate had made the base there. He splashed the last few steps and went trotting up the sand.

The rocky hills bordered on either side ahead. Yes, he could remember footprints here in the sand, a scent he had led his master along. His tail wagged briefly at the memory, though he was heavy inside.

He missed them.

He paused where he was to shake off his coat, sending spray flying.

The only signal he got was the single crunch of a paw on the sand in front of him. He neither saw or scented his attacker comming. A hurtled weight threw him to the ground, claws digging into his shoulder.

He'd been ambushed.


	2. Chapter 2

Wolf, being Wolf, snarled a lengthy warning at whatever had him pinned. To his surprise, his attacked growled the insults straight back at him - and in a very similar voice.

What _was_ surprising was that he wasn't being clawed or attacked, though he was firmly pinned under a creature of similar weight, or perhaps a little less, to himself. He could feel the sharp claw-tips curling into his shoulder and the force behind the paw there. Before he knew what was happening he brought his ears forward in a curious gesture.

The growl was almost a snort. The pressure on his shoulder and chest lifted. Wolf took the chance to roll onto his paws. His scruff was lying flat now and he could tell he was no longer being threatened. The scent that drifted over him surprised him. It was _familiar_.

The clouds above him parted and moonlight streamed down upon he and the unseen one. It was another wolf-lion. Unlike him, this one had an entire lion - lioness - body. Her tail was thin and tufted, unlike his bushy canine one. Her head was familiar too, that of a wolf, the thick grey fur blending with the tawny lion fur around her shoulders. She was somehow more refined than he was, a finer build than him - her legs were slimmer, her face narrower, but she was clearly strong. And stealthy. Wolf couldn't remember a time when any creature had been able to sneak up on him before.

She leaned her head in to sniff him. She had recognized his scent, which was why she'd let him go. He'd been with the humans, the ones who'd been in charge of all those giant hooved electric animals. They'd all acted kindly towards the humans, devoted even. And they'd conveyed a sense of respect for Wolf himself. She, ion turn was curious.

He kept completely still, half worried that if he moved she might claw his ears off. Something in his posture must have given away his nerves, because she suddenly gave a huff of amusement and reached up. His ears remained untouched, but she batted him in the muzzle, her claws sheathed. There was something in the gesture that reminded Wolf of how his master used to play with him. Teasing, filled with pretend menace, but with no actual intent to hurt behind it. Quite the opposite.

In an instant the two hybrids were wrestling in the sand, sending huge pawfuls flying in every direction. She was quick, all right, even faster and keener in reaction time than he was. She pinned him several times, though at others he came out victorious, having used his wits and greater strength. Overhead the moon drifted across the sky, unseen by either creature below. Wolf felt like howling with happiness - and so, when they paused beside the shallows, that's exactly what he did.

After a beat, a second voice joined in. Together, the two wolf-voices rose in harmony, singing a simple, pure song to the stars.

* * *

They didn't stay long on Isla Mutatio. Wolf's mate could swim, but she didn't have his endurance. In the end he convinced her to come because there was simply insufficient prey on the island. Both creatures had excellent appetites and with other combined creatures out of the question their options were limited.

Isla Pario did them for a spell. It was bigger, there were a few odd bulls roaming about to be caught. They took their time hunting and dispatching the few Sigma creatures remaining in Julius's army. It was surprising what a good meal a gorilla-hornet made. After almost two circuits of the moon, the arid environment had started to provide less than satisfactory meals they moved on again, swimming with their shoulders touching to Isla Perculsus. Due to its many close-lying islets, many of which were nothing more than pillars of orange rock, they both knew this island would not keep them busy for long. Wolf started to picture grassy slopes and balmy breezes, warm waters he and Rex had plunged into for fun.

Still, Wolf enjoyed every day in a way he hadn't since his humans left. Hunting - both for food and to clear the islands of remaining Sigma creatures - was a serious affair. But at the end of it, Wolf curled up beside his mate, the pair warm lying together even in the coldest of cold desert nights. When she was in high spirits they would wrestle like he used to with the komodo-tigers. She continued to beat him in playfights at least half of the time.

It was only after they had overcome the last few Sigma creatures on Perculsus Wolf noticed two differences about her. First was that she was no longer as swift in their mock battles as she used to be, and he won more often. Second was the steady rounding out of her sides.

Wolf thought longingly of the herds of zebra, giraffe and other prey species on the tropical islands. It took a lot of encouraging his mate to get her to make the journey, their longest yet. She needed more rest now in her condition and Wolf did everything he could to help her during the long swim. When they finally made it she stumbled up the shore, not pausing to shake the water form her coat, and slept in the sand for nearly two full days.

But it was worth it. The savannah landscape had pleasant temperatures, and huge herds roamed here making hunting was easy. Within a few weeks Wolf was hunting alone and his mate had made herself a den. She'd scraped out a sandy-bottomed cave not far from where Wolf remembered camping with his humans. It was protected by rocks and trees, a scheduled, sheltered spot. Wolf hunted faithfully each day. Her appetite had increased substantially and she could strip a zebra down to the bones in an hour.

One morning when he brought her a meal she snarled weakly, swiping at him. He was shocked, but her claws had been kept in. He kept his distance, but crouched in sight, growing anxious as her breathing grew heavy and she started to claw at the sand. She wouldn't let him near until dusk had touched the sky, and six mewling, wriggling hybrid cubs lay at her side. At last, she yipped softly to Wolf, and he loped over at the summons.

They were strong, struggling to nestle into their mother's side and feed, pressing her belly with tiny paws to encourage the milk to come faster. Wolf stared down at them and felt a loving, protective wave of delight wash over him. They were perfect.

The firstborn was the largest, a male, with the body and head of a lion but grey-furred wolf legs and tail. The second was a female cub, slightly smaller than her brother, and without a single trace of lion DNA whatsoever - full wolf. The next male was the opposite of his brother, wolf head and body, lion tail and legs. Oddly enough his head and body, unlike the rough silver-hued fur on both his parents, was fourth cub was a bit of a mismatched little thing. Wolf head, lion body, wolf hindlegs, lion forelegs, wolf tail. He jostled for a position between his brothers. The last male of the litter was a copy of his father, with tawny lion legs and the rest of him canine. But his fur was much darker than Wolf's, almost black in places with silver streaks. The final cub was a female, and at first glance looked like a full-blooded lion. But twitching behind her was a fluffy little wolf tail.

Wolf kept watch over his mate and children while she got some much-needed rest after an exhaustive labor. Wolf, of course, didn't know she'd just achieved something every Sigma scientist would have sworn blind was impossible. His nose was filled of the scent of his cubs, his ears hearing their tiny, even sleeping breathes, their paws rasping in the sand as they dreamed.

A silent sentinel, Wolf sat watch, a motionless silhouette lying just outside the den as the moon rose over the new family.


End file.
